Deuce McAllister showed that there is little lingering effects of the ACL surgery he had last season by gaining 18 yards on four carries, setting the Saints up for a Martin Gramatica 40-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

McAllister ripped off runs of 8 and 9 yards on back-to-back carries as the Saints drove into scoring position. The drive eventually stalled at the 30.

It wasn't a very good start for the Saints secondary. On the Dolphins' first series, Tracy Porter was burned for a 20-yard pass from Pennington to Greg Camarillo on third-and-3 early on the Dolphins first drive.

It proved to not be costly however. On the next series, Pennington went to Derek Hagan in the left flat and Porter was in better position to force a punt.

The Saints were fortunate on the next defensive series after the Dolphins got good field position, but Miami kicker Dan Carpenter missed a 49-yard field goal with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter.